


diplomacy happens at night

by Slumber



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Idiots in Love, M/M, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 12:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15143030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slumber/pseuds/Slumber
Summary: There's a hiss of a curse, a flicker of moonlight catching in the black leather sheen of a catsuit, and god, did it have to hug a body that tight?"My eyes are up here, Owl Boy." He's greeted with a Cheshire-cat grin when he rakes his gaze upward, past lean, muscled thighs crouched precariously on top of a solid mahogany shelf, the glint of a precious metal dangling between long, slender fingers."It'sNight Owl," Bokuto grouses, and shit, he's going to let both villainandstolen goods get away if he doesn't get his head in the game.In which Bokuto fights crime and flirts with criminals.





	diplomacy happens at night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tauontauoff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tauontauoff/gifts).



> BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TAU, ONLY TWO ZODIAC SEASONS LATER!

The moon is a waning crescent, the curve of a thin silver smile hung high among the stars, hidden behind the clouds. It's a dim evening in the mayor's office, dark and quiet save for the rustling of the wind.

And the slamming open of a shuttered window, followed by the loud "Hah!" belted deep from the belly.

Deep in the mayor's office, a resigned groan, a pronounced click. The creaking of a vault door swinging shut.

Bokuto smiles. "Kitty-cat, not so fast," he says. "You gotta stop tripping the alarms like this."

"Maybe I like getting caught." It's whispered like a purr, and Bokuto narrows his gaze, through his night-vision goggles spotting movement near the windows. He reaches back to grab his Owlclaw, careful to dislodge it as quietly as possible. 

"Lucky you, I'm the man for the job," he says. The figure hasn't moved since, crouched low in the shadows even as Bokuto begins to move away. But it's a little too still, a little too inanimate, and he doesn't need his night vision to alert him to a flutter of _something_ from behind before he's swinging around, instinct over vision guiding his aim. 

There's a hiss of a curse, a flicker of moonlight catching in the black leather sheen of a catsuit, and god, did it have to hug a body that tight? 

"My eyes are up here, Owl Boy." He's greeted with a Cheshire-cat grin when he rakes his gaze upward, past lean, muscled thighs crouched precariously on top of a solid mahogany shelf, the glint of a precious metal dangling between long, slender fingers.

"It's _Night Owl_ ," Bokuto grouses, and shit, he's going to let both villain _and_ stolen goods get away if he doesn't get his head in the game.

"And it's Feline, not Kitty-cat, but you don't see me complaining." Feline cocks his head to the side, his gaze straying from Bokuto to the window behind him, perhaps calculating his chances for an escape route.

Not on Bokuto's watch. He flings his Owlclaw out, barely missing Feline when he leaps out of the way in time.

"That's not very heroic of you, attacking without warning," he tsks, pouncing away and just a millisecond out of reach each time. 

"You're not getting away so easily," is all Bokuto says before he blasts Akaashi's latest secret weapon out, a small little bullet aimed at the center of the window. It explodes in a puff of smoke, and once that clears--

"A spider's web, really?" Feline doesn't sound very impressed. He throws one of his mini-bombs at the window, and there's a shattering of glass, but the web remains intact. "That's not like you."

"I'm not as simple as you think I am." Bokuto keeps his eyes on Feline, doesn't miss the way he dangles the precious stone from between his fingers. It catches the light of the moon, gleams a pretty rose. "What are you doing?"

"Don't be fooled by the sparkle," Feline says. "This is a very delicate gemstone, you know. I'm quite curious how the mayor came upon it, actually. You should ask him."

"Feline--"

"It would be a shame if it were scratched-- that cuts its value in half, did you know? Or," he adds, eyes narrowed and smile calculated, "if it were to shatter irreparably." 

_Damn it._ Bokuto's running toward the window even before Feline flings the stone towards it, threading right between the spiderwebs Bokuto disintegrates with Akaashi's counter-weapon. He leaps out the window to grab the stone, cupping it in his palm and somersaulting in the air before his wings activate to glide them safely down, boots landing gently on the ground below. 

He looks up just in time to see a dark shadow pouncing from the mayor's window onto the rooftop next door.

"Tche," he grumbles. "Feline's not even a _noun_."

* * *

"You're late," Tsukishima says by way of greeting, glaring at him before he stalks down the long corridor, expecting Bokuto will follow. "The press are hungry for blood." 

Bokuto scowls. It's not like he's not happy to lend a helping hand when the police have asked for it-- that's exactly the definition of hero work, after all-- but he doesn't get _paid_ to do any of it. As it is, Akaashi had to wrangle quite a few Important Meetings off his calendar so he could make himself scarce for the day, for this favor. 

The least Commissioner Tsukishima could do was be a little grateful.

He sticks his tongue out petulantly, replacing it with a smile when Tsukishima, with his sixth sense about these kinds of things, turns to look back at him.

But it's only to let him through the door, out of the frying pan and into the fire. "After you," he says primly.

He isn't lying about the bloodlust. Bokuto is blinded by an immediate cacophony of flashing cameras and shouted questions, and it takes all his power not to squint or readjust his mask or hold his hands up to block the glare. It wouldn't do for his heroic image, or something.

"Night Owl will answer all your questions shortly," Tsukishima says, adopting his most authoritative tone yet. "But at least let him find his seat first."

"They're just curious, Commissioner," Bokuto tells him gamely, nodding at the gaggle of reporters once he's sat down and can see them all clearly. "It's not every day the mayor becomes the subject of an investigation, after all."

"Let alone one initiated by the city's resident superhero," someone drawls from the front row. "Tell us, Night Owl, how long has the mayor been under _your_ investigation prior to the facts of the case coming to light?"

Bokuto grins. "If it isn't my favorite reporter from _The Nekoma Gazette_. Sharp as always, aren't you?"

Kuroo Tetsurou raises an eyebrow, but the corner of his lips quiver the slightest bit, the sign of a telltale smirk. "I don't believe you're allowed favorites. I asked you a question."

Kuroo may have a point, but it's totally worth it seeing the faint flush of red on the tips of his ears. Bokuto catches the narrowed gaze Tsukishima sends him and privately rolls his eyes. "I haven't had any reason to investigate the mayor's dealings prior to the night I found evidence in his vault. I'm just as stunned about these allegations as many of you."

"So you stumbled upon the evidence as you were, what, casually inspecting his vault one night?"

" _Actually_ , Feline had been trying to steal it. I was there to stop _that_ crime from happening."

At the fresh burst of questions-- coupled with the tight thin line Tsukishima's lips make and the self-satisfied smirk gracing Kuroo's handsome features-- Bokuto realizes maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud. 

Oops.

* * *

"He's lucky he's pretty," Bokuto sulks, wrinkling his nose at the paper when Akaashi sets it at his desk the next day.

" _Feline_?"

"Yeah, sure, him too-- I mean, no!" Bokuto recalibrates at the dangerous look Akaashi gives him. "I was talking about Kuroo, _for the record_."

Not that Feline wasn't also pretty. Well. Beneath the mask he probably was. He certainly had that kind of presence, anyway, but see if Bokuto admits that to Akaashi's face now.

If Akaashi saw through him he graciously makes no mention of it. "Yes, well, your precious reporter certainly minced no words," he says instead. "I'm almost impressed with how he managed to imply that you have ulterior motives for working with a villain _and_ that you must be grossly incompetent for failing to catch him."

Bokuto wrinkles his nose. "It's obviously just-- he's gotta do his reporter thing, I guess--"

"He just seems to have it out for you, period."

"That's absurd," Bokuto scoffs. "Why would anyone hate _Night Owl_?"

Akaashi purses his lips. "You're right," he eventually agrees, "it's an unthinkable prospect." He sighs. "Regardless, that will no doubt come up at the gala tonight, and I _must_ remind you--"

Bokuto groans, sinking deeper into his seat. He'd been looking forward to the gala, but of _course_ this had to come up. "Yeah, yeah, keep my mouth shut, I don't know the darnedest thing."

"Need I remind you Kuroo will be in attendance?"

"Wait, what?" Bokuto perks up, but Akaashi pins him with a look.

"He's coming with media credentials, otherwise I would have suggested you stay out of his path. As Fukurodani Industries is hosting, thus making _that_ unavoidable, just please try not to say anything too quotable."

"But aren't you going to be there?" Bokuto asks. That's one of Akaashi's usual duties as his trusty PA and secret genius sidekick. He's supposed to be Bokuto Koutarou's spokesman, parrying interview questions in such a way that makes Bokuto shine. It's his _thing_. 

"We've agreed this is the best time for a deeper look into the mayor's personal records," Akaashi reminds him. "So while I'm away, please, please don't let Kuroo bait you."

"Don't worry about it, Akaashi," Bokuto tells him with a wave of his hand. "I'm a big boy, I can handle Kuroo Tetsurou."

* * *

Bokuto can't handle Kuroo Tetsurou.

The man is absolutely relentless, far too slick with his words and clever with his tongue, hazel eyes flashing with intent. He corners Bokuto within minutes of his arrival, flashing him that panty-dropping smile and wrangling him away from Konoha, somehow.

"Fukurodani Industries holds plenty of contracts for the city's major infrastructural projects," Kuroo says, going straight for the kill. "There's speculation this investigation that's opened up on him may have something to do with the mayor receiving inappropriate favors from certain special-interest groups."

His gaze never once leaves Bokuto's, and he's leaning in just a little too close for Bokuto to have room to breathe. He swallows hard, tries not to take a step back or look too long at Kuroo's lips. He can only try so hard. "Is there-- do you have a question you want to ask?" 

"You seem nervous." Kuroo lifts an eyebrow. "Do you have reason to be?"

Bokuto laughs. It comes out just this side of hysterical. Kuroo's eyes are super hazel. They're really pretty, this close.

Kuroo blinks, rose blooming on his cheeks, and stumbles back. 

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" Bokuto mutters, grabbing a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and gulping it down. "Want a drink?"

"No thank you, I'm on the clock," Kuroo says, but Bokuto doesn't imagine the look of longing he gives the drinks as they pass him by. "You never answered my question."

"Are you sure you had one? You know, I'm pretty sure we invited you here so you could ask me about the wildlife reserve we're helping maintain." He waves toward the screen onstage, where images of Fukurodani Industries staffers playing with animals are in a constant loop. "I studied up on fun animal facts just for this. You wanna hear a cool one about jaguars?"

Kuroo narrows his gaze at him. Even the way he does that is pretty. "Did Fukurodani Industries bribe the mayor in exchange for winning bids on city projects?"

" _What._ "

"Kuroo-san! There you are," Konoha interrupts, coming up between them, his mouth pulled wide into a tight smile. "Akaashi informed me you had a few questions you wanted to ask the official spokesperson for Fukurodani Industries? Well, here I am."

"I'm surprised its CEO couldn't speak for the company." 

"He's a very busy man," Konoha volleys back, in the same breath maneuvering Kuroo toward the back of the ballroom, away from Bokuto. "Why don't we pick up some wine and I'll be more than happy to give you an exclusive interview."

Kuroo's gaze flickers over to Bokuto. It draws the corners of Bokuto's mouth down, because what the hell, he _so_ can speak for the company too! 

"Bokuto-san." There's a hand on his elbow before he can do anything else. He glances down and frowns at Yukie's serious expression. "They've just put out more food. I thought you might want to know."

* * *

Yukie-- the _food_ , more accurately-- was a distraction. Bokuto realizes this not as Yukie effectively draws his attention away from Kuroo, he doesn't even realize this as he wanders over to the drinks and swipes another flute of champagne, and certainly not when some pretty woman with dark hair half covering her face walks up to him for a dance.

That's the thing. Bokuto _did_ get distracted, and he would have stayed distracted had he not stumbled upon Konoha and Yukie exchanging hushed whispers near the kitchens, talking about how easily they'd distracted him.

"--little worried about him accidentally hitting on a member of the press anytime this evening," Konoha is saying. "Kuroo backed off once he realized there was no story to sniff out, but we'll need to keep an eye out for him. Them."

Yukie's voice is softer, but by now Bokuto's straining to listen anyway. "That's the best we can do under the circumstances, I suppose. We certainly don't want him suspecting anything at all. Do you think he's less suspicious now?"

The conversation shifts to company business, and Bokuto doesn't stay around to listen to the rest of it. Just because _Akaashi_ isn't around doesn't mean his team needs to babysit him-- he's _Night Owl_ , for fuck's sake!

He huffs, grabbing something small and fancy-looking off a proffered tray and popping it into his mouth. They think he can't take care of himself? 

"Ah, Bokuto, there you are, I have Akaashi on the phone--"

Bokuto glares at Konoha. "Tell him I'm busy," he snaps, sniffing before he turns around and stalks out of the ballroom.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

Bokuto doesn't have an answer, so he lets the question hang in the air behind him. Konoha must know enough not to follow, because there's no second set of steps coming after him as he exits the ballroom where the gala is held, out onto the massive, marbled hallway that leads to Fukurodani Industries' main lobby. 

It's habit that leads him up to his office, all the way up the 41st floor of the building, habit that has him stomping in and flopping down onto his nice swively chair, habit that makes him loosen his tie as he spins around once, letting the air slowly seep out of him in a frustrated--

"What the fuck are you doing here."

Feline leans back against the file cabinet, pushing it closed. His movements are languid and smooth, his grin feral. "I didn't get invited to the festivities below."

"Well-- _duh_. You're a criminal." He can take Feline out by himself, and god does he want to, but Bokuto is an upstanding businessman, not a crimefighting superhero. So instead he tries to stealthily reach for his phone, but Feline is quick, long fingers closing around Bokuto's wrist and rosebud-soft lips pressed to his ear. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Bokuto forgets to breathe. "Do you need to be this close."

He can _feel_ Feline's lips curling up. "Problem, Bokuto-san?"

" _Yes_ , you're-- and I could name a million of them, right now!" The biggest of which, _actually_ , is the puff of warm breath Feline huffs against his neck. And _wow_ , he didn't know air traveled that fast. Downward. To his d--

"Would love to stay and chat," Feline murmurs, "but I've got places to be."

He steps back in the next moment, leaving Bokuto feeling inexplicably bereft, and he turns around to find Feline with a foot on the window sill, a hand on the latch, a crooked smirk on his lips. 

"Hey, wait--" 

"See you around, Bokuto-san," he says, before disappearing into the wind.

Bokuto stands there for too long before he decides he needs a drink.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Konoha asks, eyes narrowed as he scrutinizes Bokuto's appearance. "Akaashi's been trying to-- hey!"

"I'll get you another one," Bokuto promises, but he sets the empty flute of champagne on a passing tray and downs the rest of the flute he picked up too. "Shit. Sorry."

"Are you _okay_?"

"You said something about Akaashi?" Bokuto asks, picking up the earlier thread of Konoha's greeting. "Where is he?"

Konoha hands him a phone, and Bokuto presses it to his ear. 

"Bokuto-san, I've been trying to--"

"Feline was in my office just now."

"I-- what?" 

"Why would he do that? What would he want from-- do you think he _knows_?"

"Bokuto-san, calm down." Akaashi's voice cuts through the line like ice, reminding Bokuto to breathe. "We'll have to deal with that later. I found something important. Are you somewhere private right now?"

"No, I-- hold on," Bokuto says, nodding at Konoha as he heads out of the ballroom for the second time that evening, making his way to the back gardens. Fewer people, fewer ears. The security personnel stationed nearby give him a cursory look, recognizing who he is and leaving him alone. He keeps walking until the music becomes a faint echo, the ballroom reduced to brightly twinkling lights, but keeps his eyes on the gala. "You think we should deal with Feline _later_? Why? What's going on?"

Akaashi's tone takes on a layer of urgency. "The mayor's guilty, there isn't much time, he's working with--" he starts to say, but Bokuto loses the rest of his words, the phone knocked out of his hand as someone stumbles into him from the side.

"Kuroo?" he asks, holding onto Kuroo's elbow to keep him steady. Kuroo's eyes looks wild, his hair even wilder. He faces Bokuto, but his gaze is on a faraway spot behind him. "What are you--"

From the ground, but sounding very far away, Akaashi's yelling. "Bokuto-san? Bokuto-san, what's going--"

"Watch out!"

Bokuto only has just enough time to look up before something large and heavy crashes against the back of his head, and everything goes dark.

* * *

It's dark when Bokuto blinks his eyes open.

It's dark and he's cold and something's rattling in his head and sloshing his brain around. This must be what a hangover feels like, but Bokuto never gets those, so-- 

What the hell.

It comes out as a groan, and he winces, the soft mush of his brain pressing up against his temples, the throbbing sensation too loud, too much, like a fifty-man metal band or something. 

"Look who's finally awake," someone drawls, and Bokuto realizes the warm heat on his back is maybe not a surface but a person.

"Hn?"

Kuroo sighs. "At least you're not dead." He nudges Bokuto, his elbow digging against his waist. Bokuto's wrists move with that, his shoulders twinging with atrophied muscles at the movement. "Can you still feel your hands?"

"A little bit," Bokuto says, circling his wrists to get his blood flowing. It's a zip tie, which he can get out of blindfolded, but Kuroo's a suspicious guy--

"I… saw a YouTube video once," Kuroo says. "About how to get out of these."

"Yeah?" God bless YouTube. "I think I saw that video too. Didn't account for two people but--"

They move at the same time, surprisingly in sync, their wrists slipping out of the restraints with simple ease. Kuroo turns his wrist around, his fingers brushing against Bokuto's, the heave of a sigh reverberating against Bokuto's back as he pushes away.

Kuroo grabs his wrist, his voice low but urgent when he speaks. "We should stay here for now. We don't know what's going on yet, and if they're watching us-- we could be outnumbered."

Bokuto stills, then falls back. "You're right," he says after a while, and Bokuto's reminded it makes little sense for him to be playing the hero as he is. Kuroo's probably scared, though, so: "Don't worry," he adds. "We'll be fine."

He isn't sure how likely that would be, considering 'help' is stuck in civilian mode at the moment. He does need to get a lay of the land first, find ways to make his job easier once he figures out what's going on. Who's got them captive, especially, how they can get out, and maybe even why they've been targeted. He'll have to accidentally knock Kuroo out, probably, but Bokuto's a big guy, his elbow can get in all sorts of places-- Kuroo's temple, say-- especially if some kind of villain shows up and freaks him out. 

Something like that, anyway.

"--they do the same to you?" 

Bokuto tilts his head to the side. "What?"

Kuroo huffs. "I _said_ , they took my wallet and phone away. Yours got knocked out--"

"No! No, it didn't. That was Konoha's phone!" Bokuto perks up, patting his pockets eagerly, but-- "It's not here. They must have taken it away too. But don't worry--"

"Oh? And why is that?" Kuroo raises an eyebrow at him, and Bokuto remembers too late that not all CEOs tend to have tracker implants for business reasons.

"Uh. Well. I have-- a very capable PA. He was on the phone when we got attacked--"

"When _you_ got attacked."

Bokuto glares. "Then what are you doing here with me?"

Kuroo has the good sense to flush, but not the common decency to do it unattractively. "That's not--"

"Welcome, welcome!" someone cuts through, voice silken and sharp, a smidge familiar. Something creaks open, the high pitch of metal grating on rust echoing into the room. A blinding flash of light streams in, backlighting a slender silhouette. "You must be wondering what's going on."

"It kind of looks like an abduction from where I'm seated." Kuroo settles back in his spot, his hands back behind him, knocking loosely against Bokuto's arm. "But that could just be me, I don't know."

The man snorts his amusement and tilts his head to the side. Now that Bokuto's eyes are adjusting to the light, he spots the masked face, the hood around his head that flares out with a menacing hiss. "You think you're so clever, don't you, Kuroo Tetsurou?"

"Sounds like you pissed him off," Bokuto says. He has definitely heard this voice before. "Hey, uh, Mister-- whoever you are--"

"The name," he says with renewed flourish, and Bokuto gets the feeling he'd had a grand introduction planned before Kuroo interrupted, "is King Cobra!" 

Ah, that explains the hood.

Behind him, Kuroo snorts. "The heck kind of a name is that?" he asks. "It's almost as bad as Night Owl."

"There is _nothing wrong with Night Owl_!"

"Yeah, if you're--"

" _Silence!_ " King Cobra bellows, stomping his feet. "Will you-- will you both just _shut up_ for a minute here!"

"Does he want to monologue?" Kuroo asks, voice dropping to a whisper only Bokuto can hear. 

"I guess he wants to monolo--" Bokuto squints, the echoes of King Cobra's yelling stirring memories of another tantrum in a faraway board room, a long time ago. "Hang on. Is that-- is that _Daishou_?"

Something like a squawk sputters out of King Cobra, because Bokuto forgets to modulate and his voice carries.

"What do you mean, Daishou?" Kuroo pauses. "You don't mean Daishou _Suguru_ of Nohebi Inc?"

"Yeah, him!"

" _Shut up!_ " Daishou hisses. "I am _not--_ " 

Kuroo whistles. "You know what, you're right, it totally _is_ him." He huffs. "Well, that explains a lot now."

"Does it?"

Kuroo throws him a smirk. "Didn't think you were the only businessman in town I was trying to dig dirt on, did you?"

"What, but I thought we had something spec--"

" _Can someone please shut them up?_ " Daishou snaps his fingers, and from the shadowy walls around them a few more people step in. 

Like, unpleasant, menacing, armed people.

"You know technically if you're only here for him--"

"Oh, gee, thanks a _lot_." 

Bokuto doesn't know you can even hear an eyeroll like that. But Daishou's men are coming closer, and you know what, at this point, screw what Kuroo may or may not think about him. In a low, urgent tone, he says, "Stay down, okay?"

"Wait, what?" Kuroo hisses back. "What do you mean--"

Bokuto leaps to his feet then, his strategy to take out as many of Daishou's men as he could through the element of surprise, roundhousing one attacker to knock him onto his ass and grabbing another man by the wrist, maneuvering himself behind to disarm him. He elbows a third approaching from behind, rendering him unconscious before he ducks just in time to avoid a swinging bat aimed at his head. 

It takes only a few seconds, Bokuto moving on instinct and training, but when he looks back to make sure Kuroo's unharmed it's to find him with four unconscious men at his feet.

"What the fu--"

"Watch out you idiot!" 

Bokuto dodges to the side just in time to avoid the club that sails past, whooshing a little above his shoulder and clocking its target square in the eye. "I had that," he says half-heartedly. 

"You're welcome," Kuroo says with a smirk. "So there's more to Fukurodani Industries' CEO than meets the eye, huh?"

Bokuto feels the blood drain out of his face. "I, uh, do a lot of muai thai."

"Karate," Kuroo shares smoothly, his attention flitting away. "There's more," he says, falling to his earlier crouch, arms out and his back to Bokuto, who watches as more men emerge from the shadows.

"Guess they needed backup," he says, grinning back at Kuroo. He closes his fists, raises them in defense. "Wanna split them?"

"If I remember, I took out five to your three. But I can give you a headstart."

But there's a teasing edge to his words, a layer of playfulness that makes Bokuto's smile grow even wider. "Don't worry," he says airily. "I'll catch up."

* * *

It's almost anticlimactic when the doors burst open and a squad of the city's finest come streaming in, shouting things like "We have you surrounded!" and "Hands up!"

It's Bokuto and Kuroo who obey their command, something like twenty unconscious men scattered around them, King Cobra included.

"About time," Bokuto says, throwing Kuroo a smirk.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Kuroo adds, keeping Bokuto's gaze.

"Bokuto-san?" Akaashi pushes himself past the police, who have lowered their weapons and are in the process of cuffing and arresting everyone they could. 

"You found us!"

"Yes, after-- after that phone call, I called for help. Fortunately I happened to... run into Kuroo's associate at the paper."

"Kenma?"

"He was quite handy with computers. We tracked your phones down, to a point, but I had a hunch about why you'd been taken and-- you aren't hurt, are you?" Akaashi's brow is creased with concern, which is silly because _Bokuto_ can take care of himself, but when his eyes flicker over to Kuroo it's clear now what his real concerns are. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asks, making a show of examining Bokuto for injuries and wounds. 

"Ahh, yeah, yeah!" Bokuto assures him with a laugh, scratching the back of his head. "Guess you were right about those boxing lessons, Akaashi!"

"I thought you said it was muai thai."

"It is," Akaashi cuts in to save Bokuto from his gaping. "And MMA, and jiu-jitsu, among other things. Bokuto-san practices numerous types of martial arts in his spare time."

"Of course he does," Kuroo says, eyes narrow.

"It looks like you managed to hold your own quite well too."

Kuroo sniffs. "It's nothing. I've been doing taekwondo since I was five."

Bokuto frowns. "I thought it was karate."

Kuroo flashes Bokuto a lazy smirk that eases his frown a little. "You must have heard wrong," he says. "Not all of us can buy so many private lessons."

"Kuroo?" Commissioner Tsukishima interrupts just then, looking at first confused then resigned at who else had been abducted alongside Bokuto. "Of course you're here. We'd like to get a statement, if you don't mind? Bokuto-san, we'll need one from you too, so please wait for a moment here."

"We will," Akaashi says, and Kuroo turns to follow Tsukishima away.

"We should spar sometime!" Bokuto calls out after him. Kuroo pauses, glancing over his shoulder. The black of his eyes is unreadable. "You know. One on one. Like private lessons."

Kuroo cracks at that, an ugly sort of laugh bubbling up his throat. "You're gonna have to be smoother than that."

"That doesn't sound like a no!"

Kuroo waves, walking away. "I'll see you around, Bokuto."

"Akaashi, Akaashi, did I do it? Did I get a date?" Bokuto grins as he turns to Akaashi, hopeful and eager and ridiculously _pleased_ , because wow, what a great cap to the evening. Crime fighting _and_ a date.

"I think, perhaps, you did." Akaashi says this slowly, his brow furrowing. "Kuroo was with you when you were taken?"

"Yeah, out in the gardens."

"Past the guards?"

"Yeah, past the-- wow! Past the guards!"

"Exactly. So he--"

"Must have _really_ wanted to come find me, eh, Akaashi?" Kuroo's a fair distance away by now, which is why he cups his hands around his mouth and bellows. "Hey hey hey! Kuroo! Saturday night, my place! I'm gonna make it the best date ever, just you wait!"

"Shut up," Kuroo replies, the words wrapped around a giggle.

"I totally got him." Bokuto raises an eyebrow at the look Akaashi's giving him. "What?"

"It's nothing." Akaashi purses his lips. "You two deserve each other."

Bokuto beams.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [twitter](https://twitter.com/slumberish) and [tumblr](http://slumbrslumbrs.tumblr.com/) if you wanna fill my dashboard/timeline with quality bokuroo content. ~~pls i'm thirsty~~
> 
> Kudos and comments are love! <3


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